What do you hope your son gains most from an education here at John McGlashan? This is one of the questions included in a survey I shared with parents and whānau last week. It has been humbling and enabling to read the responses to this question, and the others that comprised the survey, collectively focused on helping me understand our college and supporting our students to thrive.
Several themes have emerged from answers to that question about hoped-for outcomes of the McGlashan journey. These relate to character and confidence, positive masculinity, quality education and love of learning, friendships and belonging, opportunities and experiences, and preparation for life beyond school. Responses show a strong whānau desire for their sons to develop clear values and to understand what it means to be a good man. This is often framed around Christian or ethical principles.
One parent shared that they wanted their young person to have a ‘good work ethic and an excellent education’, alongside ‘respect for themselves and others, good friends, great opportunities, encouragement to be a man of integrity.’ Similarly, another parent talked about a ‘well-rounded educational experience’ and their son having ‘opportunities to try new things, ‘excel at their chosen areas’, but also have an appreciation for diversity and 'that we are not all the same.’ I loved this parent’s comments about leadership, character, and belonging. ‘We hope he learns that leadership is not about being the loudest voice in the room but about listening well, acting with integrity, and lifting others up. That success is not just measured in grades but in character. And that belonging comes not from trying to fit in but from being accepted for who he truly is.’
The responses of parents and whānau throughout the survey connect to and reflect John McGlashan’s vision that every boy at our college grows to be a well-educated man of character, who uses his influence for the good of others. For some parents, this is why they opted to send their young person to our school. For others, though, it seems that what we stand for and aim to instill in our students has influenced the hopes for their sons. Either way, it is warming to see this reflected. It provides a call to action for staff and highlights the massive responsibility and privilege of ensuring these experiences and outcomes are a reality.
John McGlashan based his views on the Scottish Presbyterian values of 'a sound and liberal education.' This focuses on intellectual excellence, physical endeavour, and an appreciation for arts and cultural activities, and is guided by a set of ‘attributes that relate to character formation; honesty, simplicity, respect, and concern for others. The whakapapa of this college carries these values through to us today. When we layer McGlashan’s vision and values on what we do, we connect to everyone who has come before us since 1918. That is powerful and gives us the foundation by which to support our boys to thrive. It is all there for us. While this vision and associated values resonated with me and were a driver in my decision to apply for the position of principal, I must admit that when I was preparing my application, I did find these statements a little abstract and vague.
Patrick Lencioni refers to values as the foundation of an organisation’s identity. True core values, he explains, should be few (two or three), non-negotiable, and used as the standard for all decisions and actions. He rightly argues they only matter if they are ‘lived out’ through everyday behaviour.
Student voice from a survey shared at the start of term, alongside conversation with teachers, shows that students relate to and embrace our special character, but find it hard to articulate what our values mean and how to live them. They also share that they are not visible around the kura, in language, actions, or artefacts. You can’t be what you can’t see! A parent’s response in the survey sums this up well: ‘Values are just words, it’s living them daily that gives them power. All schools have these, but very few actually make them part of how they operate.’
I've been doing a lot of thinking about our school values. As a student, a member of staff, a parent, or an Old Collegian, you should be able to talk about what our values mean, and live and see them. They need to be more than a set of words on a wall. They need to be lived. ‘It’s about creating a living, breathing culture where values are experienced daily.’ (Patrick Lencioni) They should not be framed or intended as just for a John McGlashan student during their time at school. Values should have utility and permeability. They are values for life, and for everyone in our community.
Thinking and talking have led us to the decision to review and refine our values, not change them. Everything we need is there, and we’re grateful to the vision of John McGlashan and those who came before us for that. What we’re aiming to do is to clarify what our values are and what they mean, and how they can be lived.
The process for this review is a consultative one and involves our community, hence the inclusion of questions about values in the survey that was shared with parents and whānau last week. Alongside additional student voice and the formation of student and staff focus groups, we are running a community event at school on 24 November. This will involve a series of speakers - current students, teachers, parents and whānau, and Old Collegians. The presentations will focus on what John McGlashan College means to them. The kōrero will help us illuminate who we are and why we exist, which will support the values conversation. We warmly invite parents and whānau to attend this event.
As we look to rearticulate and clarify our values, a comment by Simon Sinek guides us. Sinek states that an organisation's values should reflect 'who you are when you're at your natural best'. This sits alongside the importance of establishing what enactment of our values looks like in practice, the idea that values are verbs. This passage from an interview with Simon Sinek about his book, Start with Why, sums up the importance of articulating values that are actionable:
‘You can't do ‘innovation’ (as a value). You can't walk into someone's office and say, "from now on please, a little more innovation." You can say look at the world from a different perspective instead of innovation. Instead of honesty you can say, "do the right thing." You can hold people accountable to that, you can build measurements around that. When someone says, "were you honest?" and you reply "well, yeah, but it was more profitable", you can sneak around it, whereas when someone says "did you do the right thing?" it is a higher standard. You have to have verbs if you want to do them.’
Thank you for your voice as we initiate and work through this review of our values. Everyone in our community must have an opportunity to contribute to this mahi. Transparency and collaboration are key to the process. We will emerge with something that we all feel ownership of, and something we can live authentically.
Kā mihi nui.
Dr. Aaron Columbus
Principal | Tumuaki
Mā te whiritahi, ka whakatutuki ai ngā pūmanawa ā tāngata
Together weaving the realisation of potential
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